
What to Say to Your Athlete After a Bad Game (Avoid This Mistake)
About this episode
In this episode, I explain what to say to your athlete after a bad game and how the wrong conversation can actually hurt their confidence moving forward. I break down how criticism increases fear and pressure, why athletes struggle to move on from poor performances, and how you can guide them to bounce back faster.
🧠 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes:
If your athlete struggles with confidence, pressure, or letting one bad game turn into many, I work with athletes through my 12-week one-on-one mental performance coaching program.
Learn more: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/
🎯 In this episode, you’ll learn:
- When to talk to your athlete after a bad game
- Why criticism can increase fear and lower confidence
- How to shift their focus to effort, attitude, and controllables
- How to talk about mistakes in a way that builds confidence
- How to help them learn from mistakes without overthinking
- Why separating identity from performance is so important
🧠 If you want to strengthen your mental game and work directly with me, you can learn more about my personalized 1-on-1 mental performance coaching program here: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching
🥇Team Mental Performance Coaching Program: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-coaching-for-teams/
📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN
📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY
Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make
*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.
Get every episode summarized
Each time Sports Psychology Coaching publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Sports Psychology Coaching

Why Athletes Become Afraid of Making Mistakes
Sports Psychology Coaching

How Frustration Causes More Mistakes in Sports
Sports Psychology Coaching

3 Signs Fear of Failure is Hurting Your Performance
Sports Psychology Coaching

The Psychology of Playing Scared in Sports
Sports Psychology Coaching